Ezekiel 36:1-38

“Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and tell them, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of YAHWEH. Lord YAHWEH says to you: Your enemies have gloated over you by saying: “At last! Now we own these ancient high places!” ’ “So prophesy to them what I, Lord YAHWEH, have to say: ‘Your enemies have attacked you from all directions and turned your land into an empty ruin. This enabled other nations to take possession of your land. You also became the subject of people’s malicious talk and evil slander. Therefore, hear the word of Lord YAHWEH, you Mountains of Israel! Lord YAHWEH has a message for the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, the devastated ruins and abandoned cities that have been ransacked by your enemies and ridiculed by all the nations around you. Therefore, Lord YAHWEH says to you: Truly, I speak in my jealous anger against the rest of the nations and to the entire land of Edom. You gleefully and maliciously took possession of my land so that you could plunder its fertile pasturelands.’ “Therefore Ezekiel, prophesy over the land of Israel, its mountains and hills, its ravines and valleys. Prophesy to them what I, Lord YAHWEH, have to say: ‘Behold, I speak in my fiery passion because you have endured the vile insults of the nations. Therefore, Lord YAHWEH says: I raise my hand and solemnly swear that the nations all around you will have their own insults to bear!’ ” “ ‘Mountains of Israel, your trees will once again grow branches and bear fruit for my people the Israelites. For they will soon return home. Yes, I am for you and on your side; I will turn my heart toward you. Farmers will plow your ground and plant their seeds. Israel, I will make the population of all your tribes to increase, yes, throughout the land. Your ruined cities will be rebuilt and people will live in them again. I will increase your population, both human and animal, and they will increase and prosper. I will bring people to settle on you as in the past, and I will bless you more than ever before. And then you will know that I am YAHWEH. O land of Israel, I will again settle my people on you. They will possess you as their inheritance, and never again will you deprive them of their children. “ ‘This is what I, Lord YAHWEH, say: People say about you, “You devour people and have robbed your nation of its children.” But you will devour people no longer nor make your nation childless again, says Lord YAHWEH. I will silence the insults of the nations. You will never again have to hear the mocking of the peoples, and you will never again cause your nation to stumble. I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken.’ ” YAHWEH spoke to me this message: “Son of man, the Israelites defiled their own land when they lived there. In my eyes, their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstruation. So I vented my fury on them because of the violence and murders they had committed in the land and because of their worship of idols, which defiled the land. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered throughout different countries. I judged them as their actions and conduct deserved. When my people were scattered to other lands, they dishonored my holy name in front of those nations. The people said of them, ‘Look! These are the people of YAHWEH who have been forced out of his land.’ But I have been greatly concerned about my holy name, which the people of Israel have dishonored among the nations where they have gone. Therefore, say to the people of Israel what I, Lord YAHWEH, say: ‘I will not take action for your sake, people of Israel, but for the sake of the honor of my holy name, which you have caused to be slandered among the nations wherever you have gone. I am going to magnify the holiness of my great name, which you have greatly dishonored before the eyes of foreign nations. And when I magnify my holiness in you before their eyes, the nations will know that I am YAHWEH. I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken.’ ” “ ‘I will take you from every nation and country and bring you back home to your own land. I will sprinkle purifying water over you, and you will be cleansed from all the filth of your past. I will wash you clean from the defilement of worshiping false gods. I will graciously give you a new, tender heart and put a new, willing spirit inside you. I will remove your hard heart of stone and give you an obedient, responsive heart instead. I will put my Holy Spirit in you to empower you to keep my laws and to live by them. You will live in the land that I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from everything impure within you. I will call for the grain of the field to become plentiful and not allow famine to afflict you. I will increase the produce of fruit and field so that you will never again bear the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and the wrongs you have done. Your guilt and evil deeds will cause you to be disgusted with yourselves. People of Israel, I assure you that it is not because you are good that I am going to do all this. You should be utterly ashamed over your conduct! I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken.’ “Lord YAHWEH says: ‘When I cleanse you from all your guilt and shame, I will cause your ruined cities to be rebuilt and repopulated again. You will once more farm your barren land. It will not be abandoned anymore, and everyone who passes by will notice it. And they will say: “Look how this once barren land is now like the garden of Eden! All those empty, abandoned cities left in ruins are now strongholds, restored cities with people living in them.” And the nations around you will know that I, YAHWEH, have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted what was once desolate. I, YAHWEH, make this promise and will do it.’ “Lord YAHWEH says: ‘People of Israel, as a sign of my favor, I will once again answer your prayers. I will cause your population to increase until you are like a large flock of sheep. You will be as numerous as the huge flock of sacrificial animals in Jerusalem during her solemn feasts. Your cities that were once filled with rubble will be filled with flocks of people. And then you will know that I am YAHWEH.’ ”